Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Gifts!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Gifts!: We all like gifts. From the time we are born, we get gifts for Birthday, Anniversary, graduations, wedding, baby shower, and Christmas. All ...

Gifts!

We all like gifts. From the time we are born, we get gifts for Birthday, Anniversary, graduations, wedding, baby shower, and Christmas. All gift worthy occasions! Why do we give gifts? We give gifts to honor the recipient, to share in others joy, and to tell them we love them. We are social creatures. We enjoy other people. Gift giving is one of the oldest traditions, and was common behavior even before we were an advanced culture.

Gifts were common as tributes to rulers of the land. We honor someone else, but we are the ones who feel gratified and happier about ourselves. The giving of a gift is emotional, selfless, and it takes time and thought. This time of year is a time for Christmas gifts, which may have come about because The Magi brought gifts to Jesus.

We run ourselves ragged, fight crowds, and spend money we don't have to find the perfect gifts. Why did that become such a big deal? Unless everyone was born on Christmas Day, it is not their birthday. The Bible says in Matthew 2:1-11, the Wise men came and inquired where to find the King of the Jews. They traveled far and saw Jesus days or weeks after He was born. Did they bring gifts to set an example? No. Did they bring gifts to exchange with others, or among themselves? No. When it is someone's Birthday, do you give gifts to the rest of the family? No. We honor only the Birthday person.

When the Magi saw Jesus, they fell down and worshipped Him. They presented gifts of gold, which was very costly, frankensence for one who would rule, and myrrh, for one who would need burial oil. People of the east never approached the presence of Kings or great people without gifts. It was their custom, but it wasn't their gifts that were precious to Jesus; it was that they fell down and worshipped Him.

The custom we have developed into a fine art of Christmas exchange has no Biblical basis. It is actually a pagan custom. I am not trying to be your Christmas Grinch! I like presents as much as any of you. What I have come to at this point in my life, is that gifts are not my focus. As I walk closer to Jesus, my Christmas is simpler, less hassle, and I am able to focus on the greatest gift you or I could ever receive. Without that gift of Christ, we would celebrate mas. Not much meaning in that, is there?

I love Christmas lights, cookies, music, and yes presents, but I love Jesus more. I used to bake many kinds of cookies, shop, wrap, decorate, make candy, and make myself tired, and stressed. I like now much better. A few decorations, a few gifts, no cookies or candy, more time with the true meaning,of this Holiday.

This year, God has shown me something I never thought of before. What would Jesus want for His Birthday? Jesus wants us to give to others, enjoy our families, and be blessed with good things, including His Grace! Back to my question....what does Jesus want? He desires your heart. Christmas is an ideal time to give Him the gift of YOU! Maybe you gave Him your heart years ago, but maybe you never have. Maybe you are thinking, "What does that even mean?" 

It simply means you accept Jesus as your Savior, and your Lord. It has nothing to do with religion, or going to Church. It is about a personal relationship with Jesus. You acknowledge that He is God's son, sent to earth, died on a cross for your sin, and came back to life, and ascended back to Heaven. You ask Him to forgive your sins, and you give Him your heart, your life. He is in control, and will lead you and teach you where He wants you to go. You give all to Him, He has a plan for your life. He will give you a reborn life. 

You get to be a child of  God, and you are assured your place in Heaven. By giving Jesus your heart today, you receive His gift of Grace. I would love to have you as my brother or sister in Christ, and live in Heaven with you one day. Until that time, I'll just wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: More Molly Christmas!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: More Molly Christmas!: It's me Molly, again! I am really liking this Christmas stuff. I know we had it last year too, but I was still a baby, and I don't r...

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: The Season of Joy!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: The Season of Joy!: As I grow older, I have left the hurry, worry scurry of Christmas behind. I will decorate when I have time, I will not worry about getting c...

The Season of Joy!

As I grow older, I have left the hurry, worry scurry of Christmas behind. I will decorate when I have time, I will not worry about getting cards out, or gifts bought and wrapped. I am finally at peace with the true meaning of Christmas. It is a Birthday!  The most important birthday ever. He wants me focused on Him, and those He needs me to minister to. 

I put up some decorations, but I keep it simple. I buy gift cards, because I don't pretend to know what kids and grandkids want. Am I being selfish? I hope not. I just don't need stuff to celebrate my Jesus' birthday!  I would rather focus on spending time with friends and family, just loving each other, and building memories. 

One of those memories for many years has been Westside Church Pageant. I don't sing or dance, can't memorize lines, but I do what I can do. I have been blessed to be an animal handler. I love all animals, so this is a great way to be a part of the pageant. Each year we have camels, sheep, goats, chickens, and baby animals. To see children and adults faces light up, when given a chance to see these animals up close, and get to pet them, is a joy. You can hear the audience let out a sigh when the first animal appears. 

We have been blessed to make sure children in wheel chairs, or who 

have an illness, get special time to love on these animals. Usually someone will alert us to who in the audience needs this extra touch. The animals themselves don't always cooperate. That in itself ensures memorable moments. One year I had a Pygmy goat. He was fine the first few nights, then decided he had had enough. He would go down the aisle with coaxing but then would stop and not move. Finally by the last performance, we had to carry him. One year a horse got loose on busy Dodge Street in Omaha, and we finally corralled him in a parking lot. Camels spit, camels kick sideways, so you never know what will happen.

This year I also get to be part of the Magi, as we pay tribute to Jesus, and bring Him gifts! In all these presentations, we are brought to the very reason we do this! It is all about Jesus! This fun and time of team work is not about our abilities. It is about God sending His only son to a world deep in sin. We are just the tools God uses to bring His Gospel to the lost!

No matter what your traditions, or how frantic and busy you get this season, it is not about that! God put His plan in place long ago, because He knew we would need help. When we sin, we put ourselves far from God! He is perfect and can not associate with sin! He brought His son, Jesus to this world as a common baby, to grow up into a perfect sacrifice for us. Jesus shed all the blood He had on the cross to cover us, so God would see us as clean. When you take His free gift of salvation, you are clean, you are assured a place in Heaven with God!  That is this season for me! 

Will you put aside the hurry, the shopping, and the activity to sit quietly at Jesus feet? Will you honor Him, instead of things this Christmas?  It's O.K. To do gifts, and decorating, and baking, but don't make them the center of your Christmas!  If you make it about Jesus, all the other things will fall into place! May you have a joyful time, and let your memories be of a tiny baby, born  to all of us who saves you from your sin! 

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Brothers Four!

Carolyn McBreen Gibbs Blog: Brothers Four!: I often dreamed of having a big brother. I was adopted and an only! I knew brothers could be pesky, obnoxious and a nuisance, but they were ...

Brothers Four!

I often dreamed of having a big brother. I was adopted and an only! I knew brothers could be pesky, obnoxious and a nuisance, but they were also protectors, companions, and best friends. I learned as an adult my parents had a chance to adopt an older boy, but they refused. I had come so close.

Through a series of events, God heard the desire of my heart. In 2000 He gave me back to my birth family. It was verified and official. I not only had three sisters, but four, yes, four brothers! I felt so blessed. My oldest brother Bill immediately welcomed me into the family. I think he was as excited as I was. It was a miracle from God, and it was magical!

Bill delighted in including John and I into Thanksgiving and Christmas. He brought out family photos and tried to give me a life time of ancestry in several hours. He was a father figure at 21 years older than me. We talked on the phone every week, he came to our house for dinner, and we ate out in Omaha together. He was the one to make sure everyone was o.k. One Saturday, winter evening, we had just started a fire in the fireplace. We were enjoying the last of special wood we had, when Bill called. When he heard we had started a fire, he said, "Well did you have the chimney cleaned first?" No, I said. "Well you better put the fire out, cause that is dangerous if the chimney is dirty!" There went our fire, because we figured he knew what he was talking about.

My next oldest brother, Frank, I never got to meet. I found my family or it was verified by Lutheran Family Services on a Wednesday. On Friday, John arranged to take me to the cemetery where Mom and Grandma were buried in Omaha. When we got home there were messages from Brother Bill. Frank had a stroke and was in the hospital. Before we could respond, another call came to say another stroke had taken his life. He knew I had been found, and was very glad!

The hard part was meeting the rest of the family at his funeral. It was awkward, and bittersweet. We did not want my reunion to overshadow the family's celebration of his life. Everyone was excited to meet me. The story had spread. Brother Virgil, Mac as he was known kept his distance. At the funeral, his daughter told me he wasn't ready to meet me. He was always Mom's protector, and he wasn't sure about my agenda.

Halfway through the lunch after the service, he agreed to meet me. He soon realized, I just wanted the family I never had.  From then on, I spent a lot of time with him in conversations. For a time, John was an interim pastor at his Church. A month later I met my youngest brother Mike at a family Memorial Day picnic. We were amazed at how much we looked alike. He bemoaned the fact that he was the baby of the family, now I was.

The common thread in all my brothers was football and horse races. We all loved to watch both! For the first time in 57 years, I knew where I belonged! I was home! Mike lived in Arkansas and then Oklahome, so Bill and Mac were the ones I saw most often. It was Mac that visited my adopted Mom in the nursing home, and came to her funeral. As with our Mom, he was all about Moms and family. He was there when I had my knee replaced, and often came to our apartment for coffee and conversation.He was the one who brought our Mom to life for me. When he visited her everyday in a nursing home, he recorded their conversations! He shared all those with me.

Virgil cared for his twin sister, our Mom, then me, because even though he tried to hide it, he had a tender heart. He was caring, and protecting of the ladies in his life. Those living I.  The same town, especially benefited. When Mac went to be with Jesus on my Birthday two days ago, it was hard to deal with. Yet this is one more bond between us. God's hand was on it. We had come full circle. We were separated by my birth, God reunited us years later, and God took him away again on my Birthday!

Four dear brothers, each loving, caring, and mine! All with Jesus now, yet still with us all, until God changes our address one day!